Wedding Woes

Of Barkatullahs and Amin Sisters

Laila craned her torso over the balcony railings and stared at the mansion at the end of the street, careful not to blink. She did not want to miss a second of staring at the cutie moving in there. A beautiful man in a beautiful mansion, she thought wistfully. No matter, she was going to be the lady of a mansion just as beautiful as that one someday. If she was lucky, maybe she could end up being the lady of this very mansion! Although, she never quite pictured living close to her family after she was married. No, she was going to live somewhere pretty and fancy, maybe Paris...

"Don't fall over!" Aisha interrupted Laila's train of thought as she looked up from her chess match to see Laila bent over the balcony. Laila shrugged and went back to her dreams of living in a fancy Parisian mansion.

Aisha shook her head and returned her focus to the chessboard. She was confused for a split second as she observed the chessboard, before she gasped out loud. "Abbu, you cheated!" she yelled, pretending to be appalled at her father's lack of integrity in chess matches.

"I certainly did not. You are losing your sharpness. Admit defeat" Majid brandished a finger at Aisha as he fought a smile and kept on his poker face.

"You moved my Queen! The only one who's going to be defeated today is you. Admit it Abbu, after losing four matches in a row to me you're resorting to cheating now" Aisha exhaled dramatically, as she made her next move. Majid let his smile lose now.

A parent isn't supposed to pick favorites, but Aisha certainly was his, as Jameelah was Maya's. She was just as opinionated as Maya, except their opinions always clashed. In every other way, she had taken after Majid. She even looked like Majid while Laila and Jameelah took after their mother. She had Majid's dark complexion, while Jameelah and Laila inherited their mother's fairer rosy skin tone. She had Majid's stubborn curly hair, while Laila had silken straight locks, and Jameelah had found a middle ground between both her parents with her loose waves that rolled into ringlets at the tip.

Chess with Aisha was the one thing Majid looked forward to every Friday morning. Majid was about to make his next move when Laila sprinted in from the balcony, and headed straight to Maya, "Ma, Ma, a family is moving into the big house! I'm gonna run downstairs and find out more from Kashem Kaka".

"Sit down and have your lunch first" Majid said.

Laila stole a glance at her mother to see if she'll let her go right now. Maya was setting the table for lunch with Jameelah. "How many people are there?" Maya asked Laila, trying to suppress the enthusiasm in her voice.

Laila grinned. Her mother was just intrigued as she was! "I saw only two people who liked like they were family members. A man and a woman, both looked like they were in their twenties"

"Oh", Maya said, a little deflated. "They're probably a young married couple then". She had been hoping for a young rich bachelor she could marry Jameelah off to. Majid smiled to himself, recognizing the disappointed "oh" from his wife.

Laila looked a little put off too. She hadn't thought of the possibility that the handsome man she had just checked out might be legally taken. She slouched into her dining chair, and started to serve herself lunch, "I guess I'll just go downstairs after lunch then".

Maya watched her husband and daughter engrossed in their chess match and frowned. "Do you two need a formal invite to come to the dining table?" she yelled, doubly annoyed at their pointless weekly chess matches, and at losing another potential opportunity to find a husband for Jameelah.

Aisha and Majid immediately abandoned their match, and rushed over to the dining table. They knew better than to get Maya in a mood. Besides, Aisha was applying for a PhD program abroad. She needed her mother in a good mood to break that news to her.